A person of interest was taken into custody on Sunday afternoon after a woman was set on fire and killed that same morning on a New York City subway train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The incident is being investigated as a homicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An unidentified woman was believed to be asleep on a stationary F train at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station at about 7:30 a.m. on Sunday “when an unknown male individual approached and lit the victim on fire,” police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police said do not believe the two knew each other, and they did not interact prior to the incident. The man allegedly used a lighter to set the victim’s clothing on fire.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The suspect then left the subway car, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Police smelled smoke and went to the train to investigate, where they found the woman standing inside the car “fully engulfed in flames.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not yet identified the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunday evening, police said they had taken a person of interest into custody. The individual has not yet been publicly named.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Images of the suspect were captured on officers’ body cameras, as that person stayed on the scene after the incident, sitting on a nearby bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those images were released, and police requested the public’s assistance in identifying the man.<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Three high school students recognized him and contacted police, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a press conference Sunday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “New Yorkers came through again,” Tisch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The man was taken into custody in a subway car at Herald Square, and police said he was found with a lighter in his pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prior to his arrest, police said the man was about 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds, and he appeared to be between 25 and 30 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The man wore a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, a dark-colored knit hat with a red band and brown boots, police said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A $10,000 reward was offered to the public for tips leading to an arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n